Frankfurt, Germany, Oct 14, 2003 / 12:00 am (CNA).- The first Catholic Encyclopedia in Russian was launched Oct. 9 at the Frankfurt international book fair by Franciscan Publishers (Moscow).

The work is the result of co-operation among more than 180 Russian and international experts, including Russian Orthodox. In addition to information about the Roman Catholic Church, it also includes information on other churches, Christian denominations, non-Christian religions and main philosophic traditions. The encyclopedia consists of four volumes with more than 5,500 articles and 3,000 illustrations.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has provided 100,000 Euro for the publication of the encyclopedia.